Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1497813
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 APRIL 2023 10 10 COMMERCIAL FinanceMalta supports JA Malta's company programme World's first multi-drone system developed locally to enhance divers' safety at sea FINANCEMALTA is among the sponsors of the JA Compa- ny Programme, which offers post-secondary students the opportunity to take a business idea, formulate it and make it a reality over the course of nine months – all within a frame- work connecting an interna- tional network of youths to a large network of business pro- fessionals, both nationally and internationally. FinanceMalta will be awarding the Best Financial Statements Signature Award, which will be presented during the JA Malta Finals and Awards on 20 May 2023. The FinanceMalta Best Finan- cial Statements Award seeks to enhance the quality of financial and business reporting by en- couraging the implementation of financial reporting standards and best practices. The award will be given to the mini compa- ny with the best financial state- ments along the entire course of the JA Company Programme. This will include looking at key assumptions made prior to be- ginning operations, as well as bookkeeping throughout the company's journey. The financial statements sub- mitted by the 18 companies par- ticipating in the programme will be evaluated by a group of pro- fessionals composed of Marvin Zammit - member of the Board of Governors of FinanceMal- ta, together with FinanceMalta members Lawrence Buttigieg - CEO of Alpine Group, and Marlon Sammut - Director - Corporate Accounting Advisory Services at KPMG Malta. Whilst thanking FinanceMalta for its support, Matthew Caru- ana - JA Malta CEO said: "The Company Programme offers students the opportunity to run a business for the duration of a scholastic year. This learning by doing experience is critical for their personal development ir- respective of whether they will eventually run their own busi- ness or be employed in an en- terprise. We always stress the importance of good practices when it comes to financial man- agement, reporting and govern- ance, apart from the experience of issuing share capital, opening a bank account, bookkeeping re- quirements, and the dissolution of their business, that are all im- portant milestones for the pro- gramme. We therefore wanted to have a signature award spe- cifically for financial statements and financial management as it is a key part of running a sound business. In this regard, we be- lieve FinanceMalta to be the ideal partner given its role as a major stakeholder in the finance industry at large." George Vella - FinanceMalta Chairman, underlined that: "Fi- nanceMalta is proud to support the JA Malta Company Pro- gramme, a project that offers hands-on enterprise experience to the young ones. Good govern- ance is pivotal for every business, and through the Best Financial Statements Award we aim at stressing the importance of the principles of financial projec- tions, proper bookkeeping and reporting, which are crucial for every entrepreneurial activity." FOLLOWING an investment of €200,000 in funds from the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST), a collab- oration led by the Institute for Aerospace Technologies at the University of Malta and Di- vers Code developed the mul- ti-drone system to enhance di- vers' safety at sea. The BEA project, is intend- ed to mitigate this risk at sea through a system of drones, one operating underwater, a platform on the water surface, and one in the air, to support and monitor the safety of di- vers. More specifically, the system consists of a Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV), a floating platform and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). While the ROV follows the diver, the floating platform acts also as a resting platform hosting critical support and first aid kit. It also acts as the communication link between the underwater ROV and the hovering drone. On the other hand, the drone detects boats and relays the message ensur- ing that it is safe for the diver to surface. The Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Inno- vation, Keith Azzopardi Tanti said "the use of technology and technological devices is essen- tial for us to progress in various sectors. Nowadays, technology is essential in order to contin- ue to improve the quality of people's lives. Innovative pro- jects such as today's, thanks to the work carried out in local research and innovation, do not only continue to grow the economy in the local and inter- national market, but also the name of our country among other countries in the world." He emphasised the impor- tance that the Government is giving to the research and innovation sector in order to reach the goals set for the Smart Specialisation strategy, including the maritime sector in this case. The Parliamentary Secretary concluded by saying: "I am proud of the work being car- ried out by the Malta Council for Science and Technology which continues to provide support and incentives to carry out more projects for the bene- fit of society." Dr. Tonio Portughese, MCST Chairman said that "These projects contribute to econom- ic growth in the technology, research and innovation areas, but also, as in this case, to im- prove the quality of the product that our islands offer in many other areas, such as tourism." He added that the tourism sec- tor is one of the major pillars of our economy, and includes a growing percentage of niche tourism, over 5%, that visit our islands to enjoy the clear wa- ters and many unique diving sites, many of which with great historical value, available. BEA project coordinator Dr Robert Camilleri said "that drones are playing a bigger role in many aspects of our life. Therefore, research on collab- oration between drones is im- portant." Project BEA is financed by the Malta Council for Science & Technology, for and on behalf of the Foundation for Science and Technology, through the FUSION: R&I Technology De- velopment Programme.